Heat of the Moment (17 page)

But sitting beneath a shady pergola in the gardens, surrounded by flowers and birdsong, and eating breakfast while the Durants’ housekeeper served them more coffee or cleared their dirty dishes, made him realize all over again just how disparate his own life was from Holly’s. He didn’t feel out of place; just the opposite, in fact. From the first day he’d met Mitch, he’d spent more time at the Durant house than he had at his own. This felt more like home to him than any other place he’d ever lived. Even when his mother had been alive and they’d lived in nice house in an upscale neighborhood, he hadn’t felt as settled and relaxed as he did when he was with the Durants. There was something reassuring and almost comforting in the fact that they never changed, and were genuinely happy and comfortable in their lives.

Shane had joined the military as soon as he’d been able to, but there had been a part of him that had always looked to the future with the realization that he didn’t want to remain a gunnery sergeant. He wanted more.

Over the past eight years, he’d taken steps that he hoped would improve his situation, but now he wondered if it would be enough. He’d likely never be able to offer Holly the kind of life that she’d had growing up. He had a deep-rooted fear that he could give her everything he had and still come up inadequate.

Lost in his thoughts, he glanced up and caught Holly watching him from across the table. Her lips lifted in a secret smile and he knew that she was remembering just how she’d woken him up that morning at the lake house. Quickly, before his body could react, he turned to the Admiral.

“Sir, I wonder if I could impose on you to give me a lift to the drugstore?”

Holly leaned forward. “Are you going to spend time with your dad?”

Shane averted his gaze. “Uh, no. I’m sure he’s over at the stables, working. I keep my old car in the garage behind the shop and I was going to use that to drive up to Washington.”

Holly frowned. “Do you mean that old Ford? Shane, it probably won’t even start.” She turned to her father. “Dad, let him take one of your cars. At least then I won’t worry that he’s broken down somewhere.”

The Admiral gave a bark of laughter. “Holly, honey, what you’re calling an ‘old Ford’ is a ’65 Mustang convertible. It’s a classic, and I happen to know that Shane’s father keeps it in prime condition while Shane is gone.”

“He does?” Holly asked.

“He does?” Shane echoed.

The Admiral narrowed his gaze on Shane. “Son, your old man couldn’t be prouder of you. He brings that Mustang out every month and drives her through town just to keep her pipes clear. If that car doesn’t purr like a kitten the first time you turn her over, I’ll eat my hat.”

Shane felt a little stunned by the news. The few times he’d been home during the past eight years, the Mustang had surprised him by starting right up, but he’d never guessed his father had anything to do with it. Now, looking back, he wondered how he could have been so obtuse.

“I had no idea,” he admitted. “I’ll stop by the stables on my way out of town to say hello.”

“Well, how long are you going to be gone?” Emily asked. “I hope you’ll be back in time for the parade and the festivities. It just wouldn’t be the same without you, Shane. Especially considering what you did to save our little girl.”

“Mother,” Holly protested weakly.

“I realize the Marine Corps does not view your actions in the same heroic light that we do,” Emily continued quietly, “but I want you to know that the Admiral and I are grateful to you for your efforts.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I appreciate that. I’ll be back in just a few days,” Shane assured her. What he needed to do wouldn’t take that long. He pushed his chair back and stood up. “I should probably get going. If I leave now, I can be in Washington by two.”

“This is all so rushed,” Emily protested. “Must you leave this instant? Why, the traffic will be horrendous.” She turned to the Admiral. “Tell him to wait a few hours, at least.”

The Admiral leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Son, if there’s one thing I’ve learned during thirty years of marriage, it’s not to contradict Emily.” He winked at his wife to take the sting out of his words. “If I were you, I’d wait a bit.”

Emily nodded in satisfaction. “You’ll avoid the traffic and probably still arrive at the same time.”

“I’ll meet you out front in an hour,” the Admiral said, standing up. “I have a few phone calls to make and then I’ll drive you over to the drugstore.”

“Holly, why don’t you show Shane the new fishpond that we had installed last year?” suggested Emily. “I don’t think he’s seen it, and the black-eyed susans are in full bloom right now. After that, follow the path to the fountain, and you’ll see how magnificent the lilies are this year. And I added a new bed of carnations just beyond the arbor that I believe both of you will enjoy.”

“Thank you for breakfast,” Shane said, and bent to kiss Emily’s cheek.

He fell into step beside Holly as she made her way slowly along a garden path edged with tall boxwood.

“Did you tell my father about what happened at the lake house?” she asked.

“Yes. He’s going to make some calls and have the security system changed at the house. He’s also sending in a team of guys to go over the property with a fine-toothed comb to look for any other booby traps, like the one with the boat engine.”

Holly nodded. “He certainly has connections, so that won’t be a problem.”

“Yeah.”

Shane didn’t tell Holly that he’d told her father the truth about what had happened that day in Iraq; that Sgt. Martinez had intended to kill his daughter on the battlefield. He’d never seen the Admiral lose his composure, and he hadn’t shown any outward emotion at the news, but he’d gone very quiet and his mouth had tightened into a thin line.

“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” he’d promised Shane, and that had been the end of the discussion. But Shane knew that as soon as he was alone, the Admiral would be on the phone, demanding answers. In that regard, Holly was right; her father had connections.

They walked away from the main house, following the gravel paths through gardens that boasted sculptures and small benches, and under arbors that were draped with hanging flowers. Eventually, they left the cultured gardens behind and strolled into the woods at the rear of the property.

“Where are we going?” Shane laughed as they entered the cool darkness of the trees. “I don’t remember there being anything out here except more trees.”

“Wait and see,” Holly said with a secretive smile.

Within a few minutes, they came to a stone bridge that arched over a small creek. As they crossed the bridge, Shane saw the stream fed a small pond that was surrounded by trees and lush plants. On the far side of the pond was a gazebo.

Shane whistled softly. “I definitely don’t remember this.”

Holly laughed. “My mother calls it her wishing pond. She says there’s something magical about being out here. She had it made a couple of years ago. This is the first time I’ve seen it during the summer.”

Shane thought Emily’s description was accurate; the pond had an almost ethereal feel to it, and the surface was thick with white lily pads.

“Come into the gazebo,” Holly urged, drawing him across the bridge and down the path that led to the pond.

The entire gazebo was overgrown with climbing wisteria, which draped across the openings in purple swags. Inside the gazebo, the only view was of the pond itself, and the flowering lily pads that floated serenely on the surface.

Holly drew Shane down onto the swinging bench. “Nice, right?”

“Very nice.”

“So how come you lied to me?”

Startled, Shane swung his gaze around to her. “What?”

She gave him a tolerant look. “You told me that you were going to Maryland to have your leg looked at, yet you told my parents you were going to Washington. So which is it?”

Shane backpedalled furiously. “Bethesda. Definitely Bethesda.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Shane studied her for a moment, seeing the resolve in her eyes. “Fine. I’m not going to Bethesda. I’m going to see the Inspector General and tell them what I remember about the day of the attack.”

Holly gave a small gasp and straightened. “You
do
remember what happened.”

“I do.” He frowned. He didn’t want to tell Holly what his memory told him was the truth. Nobody wanted to hear that someone under their own command had tried to kill them. But more than that, he knew she’d feel responsible for his own injury once he told her why he’d abandoned his post.

“Tell me what you remember,” she insisted. And then, when he didn’t immediately respond, “That’s not a request.”

Shane blew out a hard breath, finding it difficult to relive those moments. “I asked to be assigned to your convoy that day. I knew you were in the third truck and when we came under attack, I watched for you. I saw you and Martinez start to make your way alongside the vehicles.” He leaned forward to brace his elbows on his knees and scrub his hands over his face, unable to continue.

Holly wanted to reach out and comfort him, but she sat frozen, her mind reeling over what he’d just said.
He’d asked to be assigned to her convoy.
The impact of that stunned her. As much as he tried to pretend he was immune to her, his actions that day said otherwise. Sucking in a deep breath, she forced herself back to the present.

“What happened then?” Holly asked softly. “I remember there was an explosion behind me, and Sgt. Martinez and I were both thrown forward.”

Shane nodded, not looking at her. “Yeah. But then you got up and kept moving, while Martinez…”

“What? What did Martinez do?”

Lowering his hands, Shane angled his head to look at her. “He raised his fucking gun and pointed it right at your back.”

Holly blinked. She had a difficult time reconciling the man who Shane was describing with the man she’d known in Iraq. Martinez had always seemed so non-threatening and pathetic. She never would have guessed that he was capable of any kind of violence, never mind murder. “Oh.”

“Yeah. You were right in my line of sight or I would have plugged the son of a bitch right then and there.”

“But instead you left your position and tried to run to me.”

“I thought if he at least saw me coming…if he knew that I knew what he was up to, that he’d back off.”

Holly was staring at him now, her dark eyes huge in her pale face. “But you were shot. And I ran to help you.”

“And gave Martinez the lucky break he’d been looking for. He shot you, but you didn’t go down. And then he realized that I was a witness and so he threw a grenade, thinking he’d just kill us both.” He gave a humorless laugh. “But he’s a supply clerk and didn’t have the kind of battlefield experience that the rest of us had. He seriously overthrew the grenade, which is the only reason you and I are sitting here right now.”

“But why?” Holly wasn’t looking at Shane. She was staring sightlessly at the pond, remembering the events of that day. “Why would he want to hurt us?”

“You were having him investigated.”

Holly did look at Shane then, and he saw the confusion on her face. In her entire life, she’d never had anyone deliberately set out to hurt her, and he could see how deeply the news affected her.

“Come here,” he said roughly, and drew her gently into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin and using his good foot to set the swing into motion. “None of what happened was your fault,” he assured her. “And what Martinez did wasn’t even personal, as crazy as that sounds. He was panicked, knowing that he was about to be exposed as a liar and a thief.”

“But that’s just it,” Holly said, her voice muffled against his chest. “I took care not to arouse his suspicions. He couldn’t have known that I’d requested an investigation. The only person I told was my commanding officer and the Inspector General’s office.”

Shane stilled, and then a deep fury filled him until he had to concentrate to keep his breathing normal and his touch gentle so that Holly wouldn’t guess. Holly’s commanding officer was involved in whatever sleazy scheme Martinez was caught up in. He wondered if killing Holly had always been part of the plan, or if Martinez had simply grabbed the opportunity as it had arisen. For the first time, he grasped the full enormity of what had happened, and how close he’d come to losing Holly.

He pressed his mouth against her hair, loving the feel of the silky strands against his mouth, loving her fragrance, loving
her.

“I don’t want you to worry about anything,” he said, his voice husky with repressed emotion. “Everything is going to be fine.”

Holly nodded and wound her arms around his waist, insinuating herself closer, until she was almost sitting on his lap. “I want to go with you,” she said firmly, and kissed his throat. “You’ll need my testimony.”

“No. You’ve already made your statement and told the IG everything you know. This is my statement, and it’s better if I go alone.” He hesitated. “We don’t need to give the IG any more ammunition to use against us, and if you come with me, I don’t think I’ll be able to hide how I feel about you.”